Limit vs. No Limit?

[RustyCJ]

I have about 50k hands worth of limit play under my belt and only about 15 Sit'N'Go's played. I've also played some $25 NL.

When I first read your post I immediately thought of Sklansky's book "Tournament Poker for AP" - In the intro, on pages 5 and 7, he says this book is intended for people who "know how to play poker well" and "have a good understanding of standard ring game poker".

I know there are people who start out playing tourneys and never look back.

I guess my thought is that to be the best poker player I can be, I need to learn limit poker, get an understanding of the value of each hand and how it plays, build a roll and proceed from there.

I have also played some .5/1 and 1/2 6 max limit games, they are much more aggressive and there is lots to be learned in 6 max play and plenty of money to be made.

For me, I'm starting with limit play and I'll play tourneys later on.

I think it also depends on your style and what suits you best.

[manpower]

I've heard a few arguments that you'll become a better player by learning limit first, because you'll be forced to develope a more in-depth understanding of odds, espesially preflop odds.

For low limit games, variance / earn is almost certainly lower for most profitable players.

Regarding making quick profits quickly, i'd say the 25NL is the place to start.

This is so obvious that you'll probably throw boogers at the screen in an attempt to knock me off my chair, but here goes. One of the main positives of limit play for a newby (like myself) is that you can get away with the occassional bad decision without going broke. In my experience, I feel I play solid poker in the micro games, but there's always a hand somewhere along the line where my inexperience leads me to either make a horrible play, or a bad read, each making me feel that an all-in type move is warranted. In NL, I'd be done. In limit, it hurts, but I'm still playing. Playing solid on the majority of remaining hands allows me to break even, or show a profit. Either way I still have a bankroll. I like to play limit in ring games, and work on my NL game in toruneys that have small buy-ins. Remember, I suck, so don't listen to me.